High school 50th class reunions are always memorable events, but next month's get together of Linton High '63 might be an even more extraordinary event.

The entertainment for an Aug. 10 dinner/dance at the school gym will be provided by the Four Tops and The Temptations.

These two legendary rock 'n' roll Hall of Fame groups from the '60s remain popular.

Most school reunions can't afford booking national entertainment, but Pat Riley, a member of the class, is paying about $25,000 to bring the Motown groups here.

Riley was a basketball whiz at Linton before going on to fame as an NBA player, coach and current Miami Heat executive. At the Linton 40th reunion, Riley brought in the nationally famous O'Jays to entertain classmates.

As an interesting aside, that Linton class had 376 members.

Twenty-eight reside in Florida, while California, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania are tied — each with eight former New Yorkers.

Cleanup crew latest in a long line

I got a kick out of Gov. Andy Cuomo and Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's recent formation of a 25-member panel to investigate officials at all government levels. They said its mission is tackling corruption "as a matter of public safety and public justice."

This seemingly eyewash maneuver was triggered by the latest siege of corrupted state legislators. The move reminded me of similar types of damage-control diversions invented by creative Schenectady politicians in the past.

When Schenectady seemed in deeper than usual fiscal despair some years ago, the ruling political powers formed a blue-ribbon committee to examine municipal finances from A to Z.

About a dozen or so years ago, residents were upset over a spike in burglaries and street crimes. City Hall responded by naming a crime commission to investigate neighborhood problems.

After months of budget scouring, the blue-ribbon fiscal gurus came up with no meaningful solutions. Ditto the panel assembled to solve the crime spree.

According to the state announcement, this new 25-member Commission to Investigate Public Corruption will have power to subpoena records and to compel testimony.

"I've publicly mentioned thoughts about closing, but there is no plan for this to happen,'' says owner Mike Petta, whose 62nd birthday in December exactly matches the restaurant longevity. "Family members and friends work here. I can't walk away from them."

"Increasing competition from new downtown restaurants and the chains are killing us," Petta said. He said last Saturday he had only 48 diners as opposed to an average 170 for many years. "The chains will squeeze out all the small independents within 10 years."

He said because government helps finance new business, he's going to ask U.S. Rep. Paul D. Tonko if aid can be available to assist old businesses. He said government wants to create jobs, but if he closes 20 people are out of work.